By exploiting the technology used in Covid-19 vaccines, a team led by UCL, King’s College London and Moderna scientists has created an effective therapy for a rare disease, in a study in mice, demonstrating the technology’s potential therapeutic use in people. The research, published in Science Translational Medicine, found that messenger RNA (mRNA) could be used to correct a rare liver genetic disease known as argininosuccinic aciduria in a mouse model of the disease. Argininosuccinic aciduria is an inherited metabolic disorder that affects how the body ...

Increases in symptoms of depression are associated with a subsequent increase in bodyweight when measured one month later, new research from the University of Cambridge has found. The study, published today in PLOS ONE, found that the increase was only seen among people with overweight or obesity, but found no link between generally having greater symptoms of depression and higher bodyweight. Research has suggested a connection between weight and mental health – with each potentially influencing the other – but the relationship is complex and remains poorly understood, ...

WHAT: An atlas revealing the activity of individual placental cells during childbirth offers insight on what happens at the maternal-fetal interface during term labor, according to a study supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The atlas provides a single-cell analysis of the human placenta and its surrounding membranes and is the first to use this method to understand the communication that occurs between maternal and fetal cells during the process of labor. Studying these processes aids understanding of typical labor and delivery at term, as well as preterm labor and delivery, which occurs before ...

Rapid-acting antidepressants, including ketamine, scopolamine and psilocybin, have been found to have immediate and lasting positive effects on mood in patients with major depressive disorder but how these effects arise is unknown. New research led by the University of Bristol explored their neuropsychological effects and found that all three of these drugs can modulate affective biases associated with learning and memory. The paper, published in Science Translational Medicine today [10 January] was carried out in collaboration with researchers at Compass Pathways, Boehringer Ingelheim, and the University of Cambridge. Negative affective ...

Record heat across the world profoundly impacted the global water cycle in 2023, contributing to severe storms, floods, megadroughts and bushfires, new research from The Australian National University (ANU) shows.  The findings are outlined in a new report released today by the Global Water Monitor Consortium and led by ANU researchers.  Lead author Professor Albert Van Dijk, from ANU, said the report underscores the consequences of persistent fossil fuel burning on natural disasters, water resources, biodiversity and food security.  “Record-breaking heat waves swept across the globe in 2023, shattering previous records, from Canada to Brazil and from Spain to Thailand,” ...

HOUSTON ― The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Research Highlights showcases the latest breakthroughs in cancer care, research and prevention. These advances are made possible through seamless collaboration between MD Anderson’s world-leading clinicians and scientists, bringing discoveries from the lab to the clinic and back. Recent developments at MD Anderson include insights into the effects of the gut microbiome on remote tumors, a screening strategy for ovarian cancer early detection, a combination approach ...

More than 200 genes linked to depression have been newly identified in a worldwide study led by UCL researchers. The research, published in Nature Genetics, found more than 50 new genetic loci (a locus is a specific position on a chromosome) and 205 novel genes that are associated with depression, in the first large-scale global study of the genetics of major depression in participants of diverse ancestry groups. The study also showcases potential for drug repurposing, as one of the identified genes encodes a protein targeted by a common diabetes drug, while also pointing to new targets for drugs that ...

From intensifying wildfires to record-breaking floods year on year, the effects of climate change have manifested in devastating outcomes on ecosystems that threaten species all over the world. One such ecosystem in peril is coral reefs, which play a major role in sustaining biodiversity in the planet’s oceans but are facing increasingly severe conditions as waters heat up leading to a phenomenon known as marine heat waves. For nearly a decade, Katie Barott, assistant professor of biology at the University ...

JMIR Publications is pleased to announce that JMIR Aging has been accepted for inclusion in MEDLINE, which is the U.S. National Library of Medicine's premier bibliographic database. JMIR Aging had already been indexed in PubMed previously. MEDLINE is a more selective subset of PubMed, consisting of the top 5,200 biomedical journals. Indexing in MEDLINE also means that articles are now also indexed with NLM Medical Subject Headings (MeSH terms) and other metadata. Selection for MEDLINE is a result of a thorough review of the journal by reviewers from the Literature ...

The widely used dry-cleaning and degreasing solvent perc can be converted to useful chemicals by a new clean, safe and inexpensive procedure. The Kobe University discovery using on-demand UV activation may open the path to upcycling perc and thus contribute to a more sustainable society. Organic synthesis is the production of useful chemicals, such as drugs, from other available chemicals. In general, chemists use source materials to create simple building blocks, such as carbonate esters, and combine them to increasingly complex structures. The source materials for this need to be reactive, but that also usually makes them toxic, such as the commonly ...

The global fertility rate is declining and most governments are failing to recognize and address the impact on economies and societies, say a group of physicians invited by the International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS) in a new paper and campaign launched today. “Not including the effects of migration, many countries are predicted to have a population decline of more than 50% from 2017 to 2100,” the physicians write in “Declining global fertility rates and the implications for family planning and family building,” published January 10, 2024 in Human Reproduction Update.  “By 2050, 77% of predominantly high-income countries, and ...

Researchers at Stockholm University have for the first time been able to study the surface of iron and ruthenium catalysts when ammonia is formed from nitrogen and hydrogen; the results are published in the scientific journal Nature. A better knowledge of the catalytic process and the possibility of finding even more efficient materials opens the door for a green transition in the currently very CO2-intensive chemical industry. Ammonia, produced in the Haber-Bosch process, is currently one of the most essential base chemicals for the world to produce fertilizers, with an annual production of 110 million tones. The journal ...

Researchers have created the world’s largest ancient human gene bank by analysing the bones and teeth of almost 5,000 humans who lived across western Europe and Asia up to 34,000 years ago. By sequencing ancient human DNA and comparing it to modern-day samples, the international team of experts mapped the historical spread of genes – and diseases – over time as populations migrated. The ‘astounding’ results have been revealed in four trailblazing research papers published today (10 January 2024) in the same issue of Nature and provide new ...

In-vitro-fertilization (IVF), a fertility treatment that involves fertilizing eggs in the laboratory and later implanting them in the uterus, has been a source of hope for many people struggling to conceive. However, the multi-step process is complex, and the overall live birth rate after IVF treatment is only 20-40% in females younger than 40 in the United States. One of the reasons for this low success rate is that it’s very difficult for doctors to determine which lab-grown embryos are most likely to result in a successful pregnancy, so many people seeking IVF must go through multiple rounds of treatment. Now, scientists at University of California San Diego School of ...

A research group led by Prof. WANG Hui from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science (HFIPS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has introduced a metal-free nanozyme based on graphene quantum dots (GQDs) for highly efficient tumor chemodynamic therapy (CDT). The study was published in Matter. GQDs represent a promising and cost-effective means of addressing the toxicity concerns associated with metal-based nanozymes in tumor CDT. However, the limited catalytic activity of GQDs has posed significant challenges for their clinical application, particularly under challenging catalytic conditions. "The obtained GQDs, which are made from red blood cell membranes, ...

UCL Press Release + table Under embargo until Wednesday 10 January 2024, 16:00 UK time / 11:00 US Eastern time   A major international collaboration of 356 scientists led by UCL researchers has found almost identical patterns of tree diversity across the world’s tropical forests. The study of over one million trees across 1,568 locations, published in Nature, found that just 2.2% of tree species make up 50% of the total number of trees in tropical forests across Africa, the Amazon, and Southeast Asia. Each continent consists of the same proportion of a few common species and many rare species. While ...

About The Study: This meta-analysis that included 90 studies with 604,000 participants found that use of weight-loss products occurs at high levels in adolescents, especially girls. These findings suggest that, given the ineffectiveness of these products for weight loss coupled with their harmful long-term health consequences, interventions are required to reduce use of weight-loss products in this group.  Authors: Natasha Yvonne Hall, Pharm.B., M.H.E., of Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For ...

About The Study: In this study of nearly 1.2 million children, prediction models achieved high performance in predicting the likelihood of autistic spectrum disorder, using information from routine developmental assessments. This tool may be seamlessly integrated in the clinical workflow to improve early identification of children who may benefit from timely interventions.  Authors: Guy Amit, Ph.D., of the KI Research Institute in Kfar Malal, Israel, is the corresponding author.  To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/  (doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.51052) Editor’s ...

Ions are everywhere, from our daily surroundings to the cosmic expanse. As common table salt (NaCl) dissolves into sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions in water, it imparts a salty taste. Once absorbed by the body, these ions regulate nerve impulses and muscle movements. In the sun, plasma—a gathering of ions in the gaseous state—undergoes nuclear fusion reactions, transmitting light and energy to Earth. One of the most noteworthy usage ions in everyday life is found in lithium-ion batteries, ...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Every time a cancer cell divides, it sustains damage to its own DNA molecules. Researchers, including Gaorav Gupta, MD, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the UNC School of Medicine, have long wondered how cancers are able to evade detection by the body’s own defenses, despite the immune system being on constant watch for cells displaying DNA damage. New findings by Gupta’s lab, which were published in Nature, shows how the cGAS-STING pathway – a pathway inside cells essential for activating the inflammatory immune response – is unleashed to prevent cancer formation by detecting DNA damage within ...

One in ten adolescents globally have used ineffective and potentially harmful non prescribed weight loss products in their lifetime, with 2% using them in the previous week. A review, of over 90 studies of 600,000+ participants, headed by Ms Natasha Hall fro0m Monash University's School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that adolescent use of non prescription weight loss products is 5.5% overall, 2% in the past week; 4.4% in the past month, 6.2% in the past year and 8.9% in their lifetime. The authors caution against the long term consequences of these ineffective treatments. END ...

One of the important breakthroughs that made it possible to program or reprogram cell fate more efficiently and with higher fidelity in a dish was discovering how to make use of a small set of molecular cowboys called pioneer transcription factors (TFs). Every cell in our bodies has more than 200 transcription factors expressed inside, riding along the DNA helix instructing specific genes to activate and deactivate. During the early stages of fetal development, a small subset of “pioneer” TFs act inside ...

Researchers led by Prof. HUANG Qing from the Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering (NIMTE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with researchers from the Zhejiang Institute of Tianjin University, and Linköping University, Sweden, has proposed a general A-site alloying strategy for the preparation of noble metal-occupied MAX phases. This work was published in Matter. MAX phases are a family of ternary layered transition metal carbides that have attracted great attention ...

A paper describing the architectures, opportunities, and challenges of the IoB was published in the journal Green Energy and Intelligent Transportation on September 7th, 2023.   The present battery technology employed in electric vehicles (EVs) faces several critical challenges. Firstly, the limited operation range of EVs remains a major concern for potential users, as it affects their ability to travel long distances without the need for frequent recharging. Additionally, long charging times are inconvenient ...

The boundary between everyday reality and the quantum world remains unclear. The more massive an object, the more localized it becomes when being made quantum through cooling down its motion to the absolute zero. Researchers, led by Oriol Romero-Isart from the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) and the Department of Theoretical Physics at the University of Innsbruck, propose an experiment in which an optically levitated nanoparticle, cooled to its ground state, evolves in a non-optical (“dark”) potential created by electrostatic or magnetic forces. This evolution in the dark potential ...